Witness

David Elstein has spent 48 years in the broadcasting industry, including as head of programming at BSkyB and chief executive of Channel 5. More recently he has written widely on media plurality and is noted for holding robust views on a range of questions which arise under that theme.

On the BBC, for example, he has said:

"If we wanted to reduce media concentration in the UK, we should be splitting the BBC in half: nothing would do more to increase media plurality.”

Elsewhere, he has not shied from criticism of proposed reforms to the media plurality rules, describing one of Ofcom’s attempts to determine a measurement framework as above all “a series of errors and questionable judgements”.

The Committee will explore some of these views with Mr Elstein and then put questions to him on what his own proposals for reform might be.